Most of today's biventricular pacemakers can also work as implantable cardio-defibrillators (ICD).

Surgery to Improve Blood Supply to the Heart

The most common cause of heart failure when the heart does not beat strongly enough is coronary artery disease (CAD), a narrowing of the small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart. CAD may become worse and make it harder to manage your symptoms.

Heart Valve Surgery

Blood that flows between different chambers of your heart or out of your heart into the aorta must pass through a heart valve. These valves open up enough so that blood can flow through. They then close, keeping blood from flowing backward.

When these valves do not work well, blood does not flow correctly through the heart to the body. This problem may cause heart failure or make heart failure worse.

Ventricular assist devices (VAD) help your heart pump blood from the main pumping chamber of your heart to the rest of your body. These pumps may be implanted in your body or connected to a pump outside your body.

You may be on a waiting list for a heart transplant. Some patients who get a VAD are very ill and may already be on a heart-lung bypass machine.

Intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABP) help maintain heart function in patients who are waiting for transplants. They can also help those who develop a sudden and severe decline in heart function. The IABP is an implanted thin balloon that is usually inserted temporarily into the artery in the leg and threaded up to the aorta leading from the heart.